Chris Paul near perfect for Clippers in Game 1 rout of Oklahoma City

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) shoots in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Derek Fisher (6) in the second quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Oklahoma City, Monday, May 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

OKLAHOMA CITY >> Rest?

The Clippers don’t need any stinking rest.

At least not Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the bedlam that was Chesapeake Energy Arena.

They were supposed to be physically spent coming off a off grueling seven-game, first-round series against the Golden State Warriors and a quick, 48-hour turnaround to the second round, only to stroll into Game 1 with their passion bucket spilling over, their bodies spry and active and their jump shots falling gracefully and frequently in a dominating 122-105 victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score suggests.

That it came after a draining Game 7 win over the Warriors just two days earlier made it even more astounding.

“I was tired,” Chris Paul admitted. “That was a very emotional game. But nobody was going to feel sorry for us.”

Their heads were supposed to still be spinning from the maddening Donald Sterling ordeal, or at least emptied of the necessary focus to deal with the Thunder as a result of all the time spent addressing it.

Instead, they looked sharp and alert while bumping the Thunder out of their home-court comfort zone and owning this loud, crazy, passionate arena as if it was their own. And, in the process, put an immediate and irrefutable print on this young series.

They aren’t intimidated by the Thunder or their soon-to-be Most Valuable Player, Kevin Durant. Not even in their decidedly loud arena, which was supposed to be a safe haven.

Home-court advantage now is in the Clippers’ possession.

They’ve also probably parked themselves a bit in the Thunder’s head.

Oklahoma City had no answers for the Clippers’ firepower or their two-man MVP coalition of Paul and Blake Griffin.

Paul, sensing a hot hand early and understanding his team needed a tone setter, sank five 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with a playoff career-high eight three’s. He missed just once from behind the arc and finished with a game-high 32 points.

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“That’s what I do,” Paul joked.

“That is a lie,” he said, seriously.

No, just the good common sense of one of the most intuitive point guards of his era.

Turns out he hit an off-balance three against the shot clock early on and felt there was more where that came from. So he shifted his offensive game into overdrive.

“I just kept trying to be aggressive,” he said.

His teammates, sensing the same thing, began passing him the ball and setting picks to free him.

“When somebody’s got it going like that you just want try stay out of the way as much as possible, but also help keep that fire going,” Griffin said. “That first quarter was crazy, and we were just trying to spring him and get him open.”

Paul kept making his shots and played very much like someone who wants to get out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his nine-year career.

Meanwhile, the Clippers flicked away any fatigue from their long series against Golden State with a signature performance that set a tone for this series.

They played free, easy and energized while burying the Thunder in a shocking first-half, 24-point hole. They added to the lead it as the night dragged on.

Paul, his injured right hamstring working for him rather than against him, dialed back the clock to his days as an Oklahoma City Hornet youngster by burning the Thunder with 22 points in the first half and a career-high six 3-pointers.

We all know this series marks a homecoming for Griffin, who was born in Oklahoma City and grew into a high school wonder kid at Oklahoma Christian before becoming an All-American at the University of Oklahoma.

But he isn’t the only Clipper with local roots.

Back in 2005 Paul was just beginning his NBA career when the New Orleans Hornets were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The Hornets, needing a new home base while their city resurrected from catastrophe and their arena was being rebuilt, looked to Oklahoma City. This is where Paul spent the first two seasons of his career and emerged as an NBA star.

“I always say this about Oklahoma ... I’ll always have a special place in my heart,” Paul said. “This is where I won rookie of the year, I played my first two years here. This is where I started becoming a professional.”

Coming here eight years later doesn’t just bring back fond memories. It places him in the arena he called home for two seasons.

He strolled in Monday acting like he owned the place and found familiar spots from which to launch shots and a kind, friendly rim to welcome them.

Paul sank 12 of his first 14 attempts. He had 32 points before the end of the third quarter and the Clippers surpassed 100 points before the start of the fourth quarter. They also led by 28 points.

Griffin, the native Oklahoman and still revered in these parts, had 23 points over the first three quarters, including a tomahawk slam dunk out of a timeout to keep up the pressure.

“This is home,” he said. “That will never change.”

On Monday, he and Paul played like it. And the rest of the Clippers followed accordingly.